Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much additional funding the Welsh Government received based on updated calculations to the Barnett Formula at the end of the 2023-24 financial year.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The 2021 Spending Review set the largest annual block grant for the Welsh Government, in real terms, of any spending review settlement since the devolution Acts. On top of this the Welsh Government received over £1 billion through the Barnett formula in 2023-24, including £200 million at Supplementary Estimates 2023-24.
The Welsh Government is well-funded to deliver all its devolved responsibilities, receiving around 20% more per person compared to equivalent funding in England. This is around £1 billion more each year than the Holtham Commission indicated – and the Welsh Government agreed - was fair for Wales relative to England.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
What discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the date of the commencement of the Corporation Tax (Northern Ireland) Act 2015.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
In the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper, the UK Government committed to a rapid, focused process, on the implementation of corporation tax devolution through a new Joint Exchequer Committee.
The Committee will take forward urgent work on this process. However, the devolution of corporation tax alone will not solve the financial challenges facing Northern Ireland. The Executive needs to make difficult decisions around revenue-raising and public service transformation to put Northern Ireland’s finances on a sustainable footing.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make it her policy to end the funding of hospices through integrated care boards.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
I commend my Rt Hon. Friend’s tireless advocacy for high-quality end-of-life care, through his work on the APPG for Dying Well.
I understand his concerns about potential variation in provision. However, the Health and Care Act 2022 included a legal duty for integrated care boards to commission palliative and end of life care, in line with wider NHS devolution.
Integrated care boards are best positioned to understand and meet the needs of their local population, and commission appropriate end-of-life services, including from the NHS and voluntary sector organisations, such as hospices.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to issue guidance to children’s hospices on changes in the distribution of the Children’s Hospice Grant for the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has confirmed it will renew the Children and Young People hospice funding for 2024/25, again allocating £25 million of funding for children’s hospices, using the same prevalence-based allocation approach as previously used. Funding will be distributed via integrated care boards (ICBs), in line with National Health Service devolution.
NHS England wrote to all ICBs and children’s hospices on 9 April 2024 to confirm the new arrangements, providing the sector with the clarity on 2024/25 allocations they have been seeking, for this very important funding stream.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to help increase business investment in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Government-owned British Business Bank is supporting business investment across the UK including through its Nations and Regions Investment Funds. This includes the £400m Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, supporting growing businesses across the Midlands.
Our Growth Hub network is also supporting businesses of all sizes and sectors across England. The Department for Business and Trade is working across the UK, including in Greater Lincolnshire to showcase strong, commercial investment opportunities to potential investors and support business to grow. The Government has also agreed a £720 million mayoral devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire to support growth and business investment.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of trends in the level of funding of Adult and Community Education since 2010 on that sector; and whether she plans to restore funding to 2010 levels.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The department is continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), the Multiply programme and Skills Bootcamps.
The AEB is worth £1.34 billion in 2023/24 and approximately 60% of the AEB is devolved to nine Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCA) and the Greater London Authority (GLA). These authorities are now responsible for the provision of AEB-funded adult education for their residents. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is responsible for the remaining AEB in non-devolved areas.
In ESFA AEB areas, the department applied a 2.2% increase to the final earnings for all AEB formula-funded provision, excluding associated learner and learning support, in 2022/23 and 2023/24. The department also applied a 20% boost on top of earnings for all AEB formula-funded provision in six sector subject areas: Engineering, Manufacturing Technologies, Transport Operations and Maintenance, Building and Construction, ICT for Practitioners, and Mathematics and Statistics. Additionally, in 2024/25, as part of the AEB transition to the Adult Skills Fund, the department will introduce five new funding rates that will apply to the ESFA Adult Skills Fund with 78% of qualifications seeing a funding increase.
Prior to devolution, the Community Learning portion of the AEB amounted to approximately £230 million in 2018/19. The department does not collect data on what MCAs and the GLA currently spend on Community Learning.
In 2024/25, as part of the Adult Skills Fund, the term Tailored Learning brings together what was the AEB Community Learning, formula-funded AEB non-regulated learning, which was previously delivered through the adult skills, and new employer-facing innovative provision that is not qualification based.
The department is also providing up to £270 million directly to local areas in England to deliver innovative interventions to improve adult numeracy through the Multiply programme. The department is also building the evidence base on what works to improve adult numeracy, including through randomised control trials.
Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills, with an offer of a job interview upon completion. This is supported by £550 million over the current Spending Review period as well as £170 million in grant funding to MCAs and local areas in 2024/25.
Spend by the department on further education is reported through publication of the Annual Report and Accounts. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-annual-reports.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to help increase business investment (a) outside London and (b) in (i) York and (ii) north Yorkshire.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Government-owned British Business Bank is supporting business investment across the UK including through its Nations and Regions Investment Funds. This includes the £660m Northern Powerhouse Fund II programme, supporting growing businesses across the North of England.
Our Growth Hub network is also supporting businesses of all sizes and sectors across England. The Department for Business and Trade is working across the UK, including in York and North Yorkshire to showcase strong, commercial investment opportunities to potential investors and support business to grow. The Government has also agreed a £540 million mayoral devolution deal for York and North Yorkshire to support growth and business investment.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which department will answer questions on matters relating to the Windsor Framework (Implementation) Regulations 2024.
Answered by Lord Caine - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Consistent with responsibility for the Windsor Framework, the Cabinet Office is responsible for the Windsor Framework (Implementation) Regulations 2024 overall. Any matters relating to the constitutional position of Northern Ireland or devolution would be for the Northern Ireland Office to answer.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has had recent discussions with the Scottish Government on the (a) reasons for which they have appointed and (b) cost of appointing an international development Minister.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
I have had no discussions with the Scottish Government in regards to the appointment of an international development Minister. Under the devolution settlement, Ministerial appointments, including pay, are a matter for the Scottish Government.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with local authorities on ensuring that residents do not live on estates without completed works of estate adoption.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Respecting the established framework of devolution of powers and responsibilities to local government it is mainly for developers and local planning authorities to agree appropriate managing and funding arrangements for developments with common areas or shared services. The Government is also closely examining the findings of the Competition and Market Authority report that was published on 26 February.
Simultaneously, the Government is making estate management companies more accountable to existing homeowners for how their money is spent. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill will make sure that existing homeowners who pay estate management charges have the right to challenge their reasonableness and to go to the tribunal to appoint a substitute manager to manage the provision of services. On freehold estates reform more generally, we understand the strength of feeling on this issue and we are considering it further.